Center for Great Neighborhoods awards grants to eight creative Covington projects

The Center for Great Neighborhoods recently awarded $38,000 in Creative Community Grants to eight Covington residents and organizations. The grants are made possible through the Kresge Foundation, which works to implement creative placemaking activities in Covington.
 
Five of the eight awards were given to projects in Covington’s Westside neighborhood, which has a strong "maker" identity. Like the first round of grants, this round focuses on projects that commemorate Covington’s bicentennial and will help create arts opportunities in the neighborhood.
 
AJOYO, Baoku Moses: $4,000
AJOYO will focus on creating a series of community events in the style of African musical celebrations.
 
Bicentennial Time Capsule, CVG Made, Steven Sander, COV200: $5,000
CVG Made and COV200 are partnering with Sander, a local maker, to create a time capsule of Covington-inspired material to installed at the Hellmann Lumber Mill, which the Center for Great Neighborhoods is redeveloping. The community will vote on what goes into the time capsule, and Sander will design it. COV200 plans to host a ceremony in the fall to present the time capsule and its contents to the public before it’s locked up for the next 100 years.
 
Community xChange, Julia Keister: $5,000
The program will help establish an arts- and nature-focused internship network for those with disabilities.
 
Covington Story Project, Covington Youth Commission: $4,000
CYC will collect stories about the past, present and future from kids growing up in Covington. Local photographer Katie Woodring and writing instructor Roger Auge of Wallace Woods will help the kids put their thoughts into words and pictures, which will then be made into a booklet as well as displayed at the Kenton County Public Library.
 
Dougherty Claywork Architectural Ceramics, Patrick Dougherty: $5,000
Dougherty will create a piece of ceramic art that combines the influences of the Westside’s past and present. The public will have input into the project and will even get to work alongside him in his studio.
 
Past & Present Fashion, Annie Brown: $5,000
The B Visible team will offer six-week sewing classes to students at Holmes Middle School and Prince of Peace School. Students will combine the needlework of the past with the technology of the future to create wearable art, which will be displayed at Holmes, Prince of Peace and the Covington Library.
 
Try Together Fly Together, Jim Guthrie: $5,000
A large-scale mural will be created and installed through a partnership with Matt Hebermehl, an artist from Savannah, Ga. The mural will celebrate Covington’s 200th birthday as well as express optimism about the future.
 
Welcome to the Westside, BLDG: $5,000
BLDG will create a gateway mural that invites residents and visitors to the Westside.